Samantha Akkineni[6][7] (née Ruth Prabhu; born on 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who has

established a career in the Teluguand Tamil film industries, and is a recipient of several awards

including four Filmfare Awards.
While pursuing a degree in commerce, Akkineni worked part-time on modelling assignments. She
soon received offers for film roles, and made her acting debut in Gautham Menon's critically
acclaimed Telugu romance film, Ye Maaya Chesave (2010), which fetched her the Filmfare Award
for Best Debut Actress and a Nandi Award.[8][9][10] Samantha then became the second actress ever to
win both the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Telugu
Actress in the same year, for her performances in the films Neethaane En Ponvasantham (2012)
and Eega (2012). Since then, she has primarily opted to appear in the leading female role in hero-
centric Telugu and Tamil films, earning box office success with films including Dookudu (2011), the
family dramas Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2012) and Attarintiki Daredi (2013) and AR
Murugadoss's Tamil action film, Kaththi (2014). Her work in the film A Aa (2016) also won positive
reviews and won Samantha her fourth Filmfare Award, while her next
films Theri (2016), 24 (2016), Mersal (2017), and Rangasthalam (2018) also were commercially
successful.
Alongside her acting career, Akkineni is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products,
while she also started her own NGO, Pratyusha Support, to provide medical support for women and
children in 2012. She donates her earnings from endorsements, product launches and inauguration
events to support the foundation.[11]

Contents

 1Early life and family

 2Career
o 2.12010: Debut and breakthrough
o 2.22011–2012: Critical acclaim
o 2.32013–2015: Roles in big-budget films
o 2.42016–present: Commercial success
 3Personal life and off-screen work
o 3.1Philanthropy
 4Media image and artistry
 5Filmography
 6Awards
 7See also
 8References
 9External links

Early life and family

Samantha was born on 28 April 1987 to a Telugu father, Prabhu and a Malayali mother, Ninette
from Alappuzha, Kerala. She was brought up in Pallavaram in Chennai, Tamil Nadu as the youngest
child of the family to Prabhu and Ninette and two elder brothers Jonathan and David, whilst
becoming fluent in the Tamil language.[12] Despite her mixed regional background, she has cited
herself as a Tamilian.[13][14] As a part of her education, Samantha was schooled at Holy Angels Anglo
Indian Higher Secondary School and then completed a degree in commerce at Stella Maris College,
Chennai.[13][15] Towards the end of her undergraduate degree she became involved in modelling,
notably working with Naidu Hall, through which she was first spotted by filmmaker Ravi Varman.[16]
Samantha & Naga Chaitanya with Akkineni Nagarjuna and Venkatesh Daggubati.

Career
2010: Debut and breakthrough
Samantha began her professional film career with Gautham Menon's Telugu film, Ye Maaya
Chesave (2010). The film, simultaneously made in Tamil as Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010),
created much anticipation prior to release, due primarily to the first-time-collaboration between
Gautham Menon and composer A. R. Rahman.[17] The actress successfully auditioned and was
signed up for the project in mid August 2009 and worked on the film in India and the United States,
while the film was released on 26 February 2010.[18] Post-release, she revealed that Menon played a
"crucial part in moulding her as an actress", teaching her how to remain natural and comfortable in
front of the screen, even if she had no dialogues in a scene.[19] In the film, Samantha played the lead
character Jessie, a Malayali Saint Thomas Christian girl living in Hyderabad, with whom the male
protagonist, played by Naga Chaitanya, falls in love. Upon release of the film, Samantha received
very positive reviews for her portrayal, with the film itself garnering much critical acclaim.[20] Critics
at Sify praised Samantha as a "scene-stealer" and her beauty as "alluring", adding, "she was the girl
to watch out for."[20] Jeevi from Idlebrain.com, wrote that "Samantha's debut is one of the best heroine
debuts in Telugu cinema" and noted that the "minute expressions she gave spoke volumes about
her", whilst labelling the film as a "classic". Ye Maaya Chesave fetched her the Filmfare Award for
Best Debut Actress and a Nandi Award.[21][22][23] Samantha appeared in a cameo role in the Tamil
version of the film, portraying an assistant director who becomes an actress.[24] Both the Telugu and
the Tamil versions of the films proved to be grand successes, propelling Samantha to sign on for
bigger projects.[25] She followed up her collaborations with Gautham Menon and A. R. Rahman by
appearing in the music video for the World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 promotional
song, Semmozhiyaana Tamizh Mozhiyaam, which Menon directed and Rahman composed.
Samantha's next release was the romantic drama, Baana Kaathadi (2010), opposite Adharvaa. The
film was actually the third Tamil project signed by the actress, but its release preceded the first two
that she was contracted for due to delays in their completion.[26][27] Samantha portrayed a student of
the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), the first such role in Tamil cinema.[28] Her next
release was Ravi Varman's Moscowin Kavery (2010), originally the first film she began work on. The
shooting for the film began in August 2007, with Samantha, then briefly credited with the screen
name Yasodha, joining the team later in the year.[29] In an interview held in 2008, Ravi Varman
mentioned that he had decided that Samantha would be the lead actress for his film within three
minutes after viewing one of her commercial assignments.[30] He went on to describe her as an
actress with "intelligence" and "potential", whilst drawing comparisons with the noted
actress, Revathi.[30] However, due to Ravi Varman's prior commitments as cinematographer in other
projects, the film languished in development hell, eventually releasing in August 2010.[31] The film
earned poor reviews from critics, though Samantha's performance was credited as one of the sole
highlights that the film offered.[32] In August 2008, while still completing her last three projects,
Samantha also signed up to play the lead role of a modern girl in the Narainstarrer, Pookada Ravi,
which was later shelved.[33][34] Samantha then went on to feature in Vamsi Paidipally's Telugu
film Brindaavanam (2010) in which she had a supporting role alongside NTR Jr and Kajal Aggarwal.
Her performance as Indu was well received despite the role having a shorter screen time than the
ones she had played in her previous films, and the film became her second successful venture in
Telugu.[35]

2011–2012: Critical acclaim

Samantha featured in the big budget Telugu film, Dookudu (2012) alongside Mahesh Babu, which
became one of the most successful Telugu films of all time.[36] The film won positive reviews, while a
critic from The Times of India said "Samantha looks beautiful and has done a great job, though her
role as Prashanthi isn't too lengthy."[37] She also subsequently made guest appearances in two
of Gautham Menon's films, first in the psychological thriller film, Nadunisi Naaygal (2011) as a
mental asylum inmate and then repeated her role from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa in the Hindi
version of the film, Ekk Deewana Tha (2012). Her popularity in Telugu films meant that Nadunisi
Naaygal was dubbed and released in Telugu as Eera Gulabeelu, with Samantha featured
prominently on the film's posters, despite only having a guest appearance.[38] During the period,
Samantha had also been signed on two feature in two big budget projects in Tamil, Mani
Ratnam's Kadal (2013) and Shankar's I (2015) but was forced to opt out from both films, since she
was suffering from a skin disease and could not work for two months during mid 2012.[39][40]
[41]
 Samantha next featured in S. S. Rajamouli's live action Telugu-Tamil bilingual
project Eega (2012), portraying a micro artist who runs a NGO and takes revenge for the murder of
her lover.[42] As the film featured a CGI-created housefly as the main character, Samantha noted that
she had to use her imagination and act accordingly. She also revealed that many heavy lights were
used for the shoot of the film and she subsequently suffered skin burns, calling the process "very
stressful" but "satisfying".[43] Titled Naan Ee (2012) in Tamil, the film opened to highly positive reviews
and Samantha also won acclaim for her performance. A critic from The Hindu noted "Samantha
blooms in the role given to her," while Jeevi of Idlebrain.com wrote her "run of success continues as
she did extremely well as a bereaved lover".[44][45] Sify.com also praised her performance in the film,
citing her "subtle expressions of love, fear and anxiety work well for the film" and that she "looks
beautiful and has done her role with consummate ease".[46][47] The film went on to become a large
commercial success, grossing more than ₹ 1.25 billion, and went on to be dubbed in several foreign
and Indian languages.[48][49][50]